Introduction

When I opened up the latest package from MSI and found myself staring at a new ITX based motherboard, I instantly found myself filled with joy. Thinking about it for a minute, though, I realized as much as I love the ITX form factor, I've never personally used it myself. It feels like a big part of that, though, is due to my very slow rebuild cycle when it comes to my own computer.

While the ITX form factor has been around for ages, the honest truth is that it's probably only really gained a massive amount of momentum in the last 18 - 24 months, thanks to quality ITX based chassis from companies such as BitFenix.

First we'll start with the package and then follow on from there. So with haste let's get stuck into the MSI Z87I to see just what MSI are offering us in this tiny form factor motherboard today.

Package

Checking out the front of the box, you can see the main push is for the Military Class 4 feature. You can also see a couple of the other main features across the bottom including USB 3.0 SATA III and PCIe 3.0. Turning the box over you can see we get a larger explanation with what's going on when it comes to the Military Class 4 components.

Looking on the right side you can see we've got Hi-c CAP, SFC and Solid Caps to bring higher quality power. Along with that we've also got Humidity, ESD, EMI and High Temperature protection. On the left you can see the main specifications along with a look at the I/O panel.

Moving inside the box, you can see the bundle is pretty small. You can see we've got a User Guide along with a Quick Installation Guide and a pair of driver and utility CDs. You can see the rear I/O back plate, two SATA cables, along with two wireless antennas.